Mayhem

The past couple of weeks have been a bit chaotic. I crashed on my rollerskis about two weeks ago and landed on my thumb. Luckily I didn't land on my thumb the way that most people on skis land on their thumb, which causes a scaphoid break - a small bone near the wrist. Not me. Instead I landed on the tip of my thumb and hyperextended the upper knuckle and tore a ligament.

I have a slow motion video of the crash that keeps replaying in my mind. My thumb does not look good. The first thing I did when I stopped sliding was grab my thumb, half expecting it to be flopping from my hand. It wasn't that bad. I've still been able to rollerski. Lifting weights has been and exercize to exercize type of thing and most of it is no problem. Shifting gears on my mountain bike is a bit of a challenge.

that was the first issue.

about a week ago i started to have some serious stomach problems. I thought I had food poisoning but it didn't go away. Thinking it might be something serious I went to the doctor this weekend and found out that I probably have Giardia. Which is pretty cool. So now I'm on some seriously strong medicine that, from what I have read is more of a pesticide than an antibiotic. Either way, its making me tired and giving me a headache. Not to mention the metallic taste in my desert of a mouth.

By next weekend I'm hoping to get back to something resembling training again. Hopefully with a few less protozoa in my intestine and bit stronger thumb.

Until then.

Post Olympic Post Modernism

Well the Olympics have come and gone and I enjoyed every minute of it. I love watching the Olympics. Its so fun to see so many athletes from every corner of the world compete in every sport under the sun.

I always find myself embracing one of the lesser known sports that I had never otherwise considered. In Torino it was curling, I don't know why. Its not that exciting and it doesn't even look like that much fun. But it sure was intriguing to imagine how much time those people spend practicing sweeping the ice. And I don't think I missed a match through the entire games. It must be the allure of a sport I know nothing about, I have to know more.

During this Olympics it was wrestling. I couldn't get enough of it, especially the Greco Roman competition. Alongside running, I don't think there is a more pure sport. Man on man, nothing else. Minimal variables. As a ski racer I must envy that a bit, the lack of a wild card element.

And as much as I enjoyed watching each event, this year I really found myself growing tired of the commentators and their attitudes towards the competitors. I didn't take long to realize that those commentators, like John McCain (nice speech last night, Barrack), simply don't get it.

It is a rare case when an athlete 'settles for silver'. Settling for silver is reserved for only the phenom who wins medal after medal, the Micheal Phelps of the world. But most silver medalists don't settle for silver, they win it, contrary to the notion that the commentators seem to extend.

My dismay was lightened, however, upon hearing Chris Collinsworth describe the scene as he sat amongst the parents and family of many of the US swimmers. He noted that while much attention was paid to the mother of Micheal Phelps and her reaction to seeing her son win gold medal after gold medal, in fact the scene played itself out over and over again within each family set. For Ms. Phelps it was seeing her son win gold, for some it was seeing their daughter make the semifinal, for others it was surely the joy of simply qualifying to compete in Beijing.

I suppose my point is that glory comes from competing, and the way in which one competes. Success, of course, is desirable but success is relative and to me it seems like a major loss to write off all of our athletes who don't bring home a gold medal.

End personal diatribe here.

So its that time of year where I stop training so much. And good thing for it because I was really starting to get bored. I've been putting in 4+ hour days for quite a while. 25 hours weeks really start to add up, especially when they are all solo. All of them. I'm on the verge of losing my mind and my ipod wearing out.

I'm trying a little different training plan this fall, trying to make use of the massive base I have built up this summer and the many summers that I have trained before this one. One of the issues I've had in the past years is that I just can't go fast enough in races under 30km. So I'm pretty much just going to lift weights and hammer for the rest of the season. Thats it, im not joking... and try to lose some weight... simple plan, power up and weight down. Last season I raced at 155 and this season I'm hoping to race somewhere closer to 150. If i can do that, it will mean serious speed going uphill on skating skis. And that's the point.

In the greater world of my life I've been rounding out a few design projects and making strides toward putting together a full fledged professional portfolio that may let me one day get a job or something like that... someday. I've also been doing quite a bit post-production for a handful of high-end action photographers, and I've also started to assist a local Photographer, which is really cool because I'm learning a ton. Assisting is like being an apprentice in the photo world. It has been a really great experience as I'm still trying to find my place in the commerical art world, whether it be as a designer or photographer or creative director... or who knows what... high school art teacher? i don't know.

Lastly, I have started with a new group of kids at Ecker Hill Middle School. We are diving straight into the school year with hiking and the high ropes course in the next two weeks. I've only been one day so far, so not a lot to share in that regard but it looks to be a promising year with a good group of kids to wrangle.

Adapting

Training has continued to be most excellent since my last post. I've been pushing the volume very heavily and things are really coming along well.

In the midst of my last 4 week training cycle I started to get a little sick of training on my own. I mean, a guy can only do so many 5 hour days solo... Living in Park City there are often people in and out between the US Ski Team, the Univ of Utah Ski Team and a few other independent racers like myself. July/August is a tough time to work through because a lot of people are at training camps, the university is away for the summer, there just aren't a lot of people to workout with... Unless you are a road biker...

So I've had to adapt a little. Lately I have been riding a lot so as to get some workouts with others. Its been a great mental break and also a good opportunity to really get pushed extrinsically. I've gotten myself hooked up with one of Utah's top pro team and have done some training rides with them and really enjoyed it.

Several weeks ago I hopped into a road hillclimb. I had yet to do any really tough workouts on a bike so I was unsure. Even more, I hadn't done a real race since late March. I felt awkward the morning of the race. I really didn't feel prepared mentally and I couldn't remember the steps I typically go through to get myself into that place. Though as the start time neared I settled down and managed to focus my energy on the effort. Once my class got called to the start line it all came back and I was really able to get into it.

The race itself was good. I rode away from the field less than a mile into the race and more or less time trialed my way up to the summit. I rode well, very steady. I didn't have much top end but I haven't trained the top end at all, so none was expected. On the final results I was 7th overall, which was satisfying given that all of Utah's top riders were in the race.

Afterwards I definitely had renewed motivation for competition. I have a month or so without before the Utah State Hillclimb Championship, which I am putting a lot of energy into preparing for. Its a time trial for everyone so I'll have a chance to compare solo efforts with the best guys.

My next training period is another big one with major focus on volume and my last little bit soiree-ing as a road biker before I crank up both the intensity and specificity. With any luck that will coincide with plenty of training partners around. I'm looking forward to dropping the hammer.

All for now and good luck to Mike in Beijing.

Benchmarks.

The first portion of the training season is officially over and I am now into the meat of the training year. The early months of the training year, May and June, were a bit hectic but so far July has been excellent.

There were so many things going on during May that I really was unable to put forth the effort that I expect from myself in training. June was better in that I did manage to accomplish all of the training that I had laid out for myself, though I was still trying to tie up loose ends from projects that started in May. The month was solid but it did not feel focused. That lack of focus left me wondering where I was in regards to my fitness. I knew I had been putting in the hours but was unsure if any real gains were made.

Once I realized that the only thing missing from my training was a bit more direction and focus, I did everything in my power to cut out the peripherals and put my head down. I tied up projects, planned out the next months of preparation so I knew exactly where I was headed and got after it.

I felt like I needed to test myself a bit to find out where I was, especially compared to last year. The tough thing about having one excellent training season is that the next season after it feels like a bust until you get back to a level that you have attained before. I needed to know how I stacked up.

The Spring is always focused heavily on strength for me. Having a good strength base is crucial to having good finishing speed and finishing speed is something I pride myself on. Last season I made some huge strength and power gains in my lower body and I was hoping to achieve similar results this year in my upper body without gaining any additional body mass.

Last season I was very happy about being able to do 4 sets of 15 pull-ups in the late fall. Having that bench mark in mind, we decided to find out if I could accomplish the same thing only two months into the training year...

Turned out, it wasn't even that hard. After 4 sets, we decided to set another benchmark to compare with in the future - total number of sets of 15. I kept cranking them out, only resting enough between sets to do a set of another exercise... I ended with seven sets. The only reason I stopped was because I ripped a callus clean off my left hand and the nickel sized hole was starting to bleed quite a bit... Nonetheless, we were pretty happy about 105 pull-ups in a single workout.

Two days later, we wanted to see what I could put out in a single max set. The most I've ever done is 26 and that was a looong time ago. I think I weighed about 125 lbs back then... 35 was the magic number. 35 pullups. After that I did another 3 sets of 20... And that was just one exercise. The others have been going similarly well.

With strength gains aplenty, I really needed to test my fitness a bit. Most nordic skiers rely on uphill running tests, as rollerski speeds vary a bit too much between pairs and over different temperatures. My history with running is not good. In college I was unable to run for two years after a growth spurt left my IT bands playing catchup with my femurs. The past two years i have been battling what i thought was a neuroma but now know is an arthritic joint... So I rely on uphill road biking.

I hit up a popular hill climb in town that I have done a few times in the past. I know what a good time for me is and with so many excellent bikers in Park City, I know what a good time is, period. I managed 20 seconds slower than my all time best. About 35 seconds off of the best time posted this year by one of the best climbers in Utah. I'll take it.

So with three weeks left in July, I am very happy to have not focused until now. I feel fresh and ready to tackle the next 5 months before the season starts...

Here are some numbers from my training year so far:
Most pullups in a workout: 105
Most pullups in a single set: 35

Toughest squat workout so far: 2x30, 165lbs
Workout on plan I'm not looking forward to: 1x50, 165lbs

Longest workout so far: 7.5 hours (road bike)
Miles covered: 125, altitude gain of ~8000 feet.

Longest runs: 4hrs 50min, 5 hours 20min (it should be noted that my mom ran with me for that 5:20 and continued on for 6 hours in training for a 50k).

Longest rollerski: 5 hours on several occasions

Number of times I've questioned why I didn't choose Alpine skiing: 47

Holes of golf played in July: 27
Holes of golf played in past 5 years: 36
Last time I played golf: 3 years ago
Best score 18 holes: 100
# of birdies: 1
# of quadruple bogeys: 1

Training hours in last period of 4 weeks: 82hrs
Training hours in next period of 4 weeks: more than that!
Largest 4 week period on this seasons' training plan: 90hrs

Largest training week so far: 26 hrs

Avoiding the Snow. Rollerski Intervals on a Treadmill. Flip Video.

Warning: don't watch this video if you are susceptible to motion sickness and even if you aren't, you may want to take some Dramamine first.

Springtime: A late update in the wake of computer-driven discourse.

My first foray into the world of video blogging has not been a graceful one... For reasons previously unknown, Mac-asaurus Rex (my mac pro) has not played well with others. When he first met my ipod and iphone (yes i am an apple fanboy) he didn't want to sync with them. All he really wanted to do was reformat them and leave them blank...

Last week when I was attempting to upload my first ever video blog entry, Macasaurus tried to erase the firmware off of the Flip video camera. I didn't really appreciate that very much, so I sought some counseling from AppleCare. Several hours and a dozen restarts later, Macasaurus was still bullying a whole neighborhood worth of peripheral devices. The AppleCare people suggested I take him to the Apple store where they could test the hardware... seemed reasonable to me except for the fact that a faulty hardware exchange means mandatory 4-5 day vacation in Cupertino for Macasaurus and while I'm sure he would appreciate the break, I'm in the middle of a massive redesign for the Women's Ski Jumping movement; five days away would leave the walls crashing down and the sky falling.

So I decided my best option was to keep the peripherals away from Macasaurus until I have a break in design work and can manage without the horsepower for a few days... And then last night I found myself reading the Apple forums and found a group of other Mac Pro users were having the same problems. And that led me to an article that suggested restarting the machine without the apple-provided keyboard usb extention cord attached and resync the peripherals... which was followed closely by the heavens opening up and ensuing rapture.

The proverbial thorn in the lion's paw... at least as far as I can tell... a $2 usb extention cord bringing my macasaurus to it's knees. Problem solved for now... My computer works but my Flip video blog is gone...

This Spring has been a busy one, albeit a very good one. I've had a multitude of sponsorship obligations to tend to including several lengthy photo shoots and fashion shows (insert Zoolander joke here). Outside of that, I've been cranking out design projects one after the next. Right now, as I mentioned above, I'm doing a total aesthetic redesign for Women's Ski Jumping USA. It has been an awesome opportunity to direct a total concept to completion rebrand. Last week I directed a photo shoot with several of the athletes and produced a splash page for their site (http://www.wsjusa.com - only the front page is my doing) that will remain until I complete the entire site.

I've also been busy with my crew at Ecker Hill Middle School. It has been a crazy spring in terms of the weather and we've spent most of the days indoors playing dodgeball and various other games. Last week we even had a freestyle jump-rope competition. In our time inside I've also developed a serious quiver of pitches for kickball; my change-up has been known to actually stop... This Tuesday will be our last day of school before the summer break and I may move over to the Boys and Girls Club for a few months before school starts again.

Training has been up and down, as it usually is for me this time of year. Motivation can be tough to come by when its snowing in May. But things are progressing. This past Monday I ran for 4.5 hours and yesterday I managed to run for just over 5 hours. These long workouts have become the backbone of my own training. This next week will my first large volume week (~25 hours of total volume) and will be a good test of where I am. If I can put in quality hours through the whole week, it should set me up very well for the rest of the summer. I wasn't able put down 25 hrs in a week until August last year, so this is a definite progression.

Thats all for now. Keep your fingers crossed and hopefully next time my video blog will work out!

JT high up on the ropes course during one of the few nice days we've had at school.

Living Life As It Is To Be Lived: A Brief Respite From Structure

As I walked away from my final race of the season, it was odd to not have the sense of relief that typically ensues. Instead, a general warmth of satisfaction lingered through the next weeks as I thought back over the season. With each new race, I seemed to get stronger and the trend never did end. My last races of the season were without a doubt my strongest and unlike seasons past, the waning days of competition did not drag on.

Entering the month of April, and my annual respite from Cross Country skiing, I was anxious to escape the structured livelihood required of a professional athlete. I did not know what exactly it was that I wanted to do, but that was not important. What was important was the freedom to do whatever came to mind. And after a few days of catching up on chores neglected while on the road, I did exactly that.

My first exercise in momentary freedom was a quick trip to Southern Utah with my good friend Jeremy, an Olympic Biathlete who felt the need to stretch his wings same as I. Two dirt bikes in tow, we drove to Moab to ride the famous Slickrock trail, something I have done tens of times on a pedal bike but never once with a motor. It was a completely different experience and equally thrilling. Mountain biking is much like cross-country skiing, dirt biking is it's antithesis and perhaps that is the reason I enjoy it so much. Its a constant exercise in total commitment, there is no tip-toeing on a motorcycle, unless you like pushing 300lbs up a hill.

Riding White Wash

The day following our ride on the Slickrock we joined a group of new found friends for a ride in White Wash. It was an insanely technical trail for the second ride of the year but never willing to back down, I kept at it and soon became comfortable with the terrain. It was without question my best day ever on a dirt bike. As we left the desert in our rear view mirror, we grinned into the sunset and recanted the ride. Without question, it was an epic start to our weeks away from ski racing.

Ledges make for technical riding.

Returning to Park City, I soldiered on in my mission to do exactly what I wanted to do. I joined friends out on the town, staying out late enough to see the sun peak over the hills early in the morning. It didn't take long before it was time to pack for my next adventure, a vacation to Costa Rica that was given to me for Christmas by my radical girlfriend, Crystal.

We left for San Jose early in the morning and arrived late in the afternoon following a short stop over in Houston. We had an adventurous ride through Alajuela, navigating small roads lacking any sort of signage, eventually arriving at Las Orquedias where we spent the first night. The next morning we were pulled from our sleep by an early, equatorial sunrise and hit the road en route to volcano country. We stopped to peer into the crater of the Poas Volcano with no more than 30 seconds to spare before a thick cloud cover enveloped the mountain for the rest of the day. We continued on, passing waterfalls and sprawling coffee plantations until we reached the town of La Fortuna near the Arenal Volcano. We found a hotel, enjoyed a meal and watched lava flow into the darkness of night.

The next morning we toured the canopy of the rain forest by zip line. And while the zip line was fun, the real joy came from seeing just how vast and lush a rain forest really is. I'm not sure words can accurately describe how much life exists in those regions. While in La Fortuna we also toured the back parts of the town, allowing us to peak into the real Costa Rica and soaked ourselves in the region's famous hot springs.

Crystal And I in Costa.

After a few days flying solo, Crystal and I trekked back to San Jose to meet up with our friends Colin and Nicole (Nicole Deyong - also an ITA athlete). The morning following their arrival we drove out to Puntarenas, where we put the trusty Terrios on a ferry to Paquera, and drove to our final destination- a surf spot named Santa Teresa. We had rented a house with several other friends, all linked somehow through our involvement in ski racing.

abby, chris, myself, crystal, colin, nicole, toby (from left)

The next 4 days we spent surfing, boogie boarding, body surfing and in general, lounging on the beach. It was great to have a few days to just chill out with friends and enjoy life without schedule and commitment outside of that we have to each other. The end approached quickly and we ventured back towards the capitol city and departed the Rich Coast of Central America; an amazing place that I can't wait to revisit.

hanging at a waterfall

Upon our return to Park City, it was time to take care of some sponsorship commitments, most notably a photo shoot for Rossignol Softgoods '09. Before leaving to Costa Rica I had committed to a 3 day shoot in and around Park City, though when I returned that had morphed into a 7 day shoot spanning the desert of Southern Utah. As their chosen poster child, I really had no choice and anxious to repay them for their commitment to me, it was the least I could do.

The group of ten consisted of several photographers, an art director, the Senior VP of Sales and Marketing and 5 models, myself included. As for the models, we had never met but we soon formed a cohesive bunch that turned a week of hard work into the kind of week you wish could make last a lifetime. We toured the desert of Southern Utah, making stops in Moab, Capitol Reef National Park, Bryce Canyon NP and Zion NP. Temperatures were just barely cooperative, hovering just above the half-century mark as I spent much of the time wearing nothing but a pair of surf shorts in front of a camera. It all paid off, the shots were amazing and the memories in my head are not that of work but of hiking, mountain biking, and paddling a stretch of the Colorado river in a kayak with some awesome new friends (I'm not a kayaker and how I got roped into that whole thing is still a bit of a mystery).

Zion National Park.

Calf Creek Falls - Escalante NP. That is some cold water. Believe me.

Photographing the Photographer. Zion.

Enjoying the Sunset in Capitol Reef NP.

Bryce Canyon NP. One of the coolest things I've ever seen.

A month of adventure behind me I am beeming with excitement to begin training again. Life is for living and lately I feel as though I've been doing a great job of it. As I read stories of fellow ITA athletes and their push towards Beijing Olympic team, I can't help to be a bit jealous of the experiences they are having and will have during such a trying time. Those are moments that one does not forget. They are the times that you put everything forward, sparing nothing. And it's that effort that is important. An effort that is the culmination of years of dedication, sacrifice and perseverance.

Good luck to all the ITA athletes trying to make that team, enjoy it!